NIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – The Penn State Nittany Lion field hockey team (4-4, 3-2 B1G) dropped a hard-fought contest at Rutgers (6-3, 4-2 B1G) in a Big Ten road game Friday in New Jersey. The Nittany Lions could not break through a stingy Scarlet Knight defense in a 3-0 loss in Piscataway.
In instances where teams are scheduled to play each other twice during this year's Big Ten season, only the first game between the two squads is considered for the Big Ten regular season standings. Given that, today's game counts in both the conference and overall standings.
The two teams traded early possessions with each team pushing the ball into the opposing circle early on. The Scarlet Knights maintained possession midway through the period and picked up the game's first penalty corner at the 6:13 mark. Penn State goalie Brie Barraco (Allentown, Pa.) made a good save on the initial shot off the corner but Rutgers' Clayre Smith knocked in a goal off the rebound to give the Scarlet Knights a 1-0 lead at the 6:06 mark. Penn State worked to rally its offense after the goal with Emma Spisak (Boiling Springs, Pa.) and Bree Bednarski (Wyoming, Pa.) controlling action in the RU circle. But Rutgers defense was able to push back on the Lions and Penn State trailed by one after the opening period.
Penn State began the second period in control offensively. The Nittany Lions spent the first minute pushing the ball into the Knight circle. Rutgers briefly regained possession but Penn State answered on defense the teams traded barbs in the midfield. Abby Myers (Hartland, Wis.), Grace Wallis (Blue Bell, Pa.) and the Lion forwards kept the pressure on Rutgers as the clock moved to the 11:00 mark but lost possession out of bounds, allowing the Knights to hit the ball down to the Nittany Lion side of the field. Penn State won the time of possession battle over the course of the second period but Rutgers had the period's best scoring chance, with Barraco knocking back a late RU pass at the :35 mark to set up a Penn State fast break. Spisak and Wallis, however, countered offensively and moved the ball downfield to pick up the Lions' first penalty corner with just :05 on the clock. Rutgers was able to keep its shutout alive as Penn State did not score on the corner and the Nittany Lions trailed 1-0 at the half.
Rutgers had the only two shots of the first half, owning a 2-0 edge in shots over the first 30 minutes. Neither Barraco nor Rutgers goalie Gianna Glatz had a save. Each team had one penalty corner as well.
The Nittany Lions once controlled action early on in the third period but could not break through the final levels of Rutgers' defense. The Scarlet Knights regained possession and worked the ball down into the Penn State circle at the 9:00 mark. After a minute-plus of action, Rutgers took a 2-0 lead when Rachel Houston scored at the 7:29 mark. Down by two, Penn State quickly tried to press the action into Rutgers territory but the Knights' defense continued to stymie the Lion efforts. Penn State forced a penalty corner with 5:20 on the clock. Glatz knocked back an Anna Simon (Hanau, Germany) shot after the corner to keep Penn State off the scoreboard. Penn State staved off a final Rutgers offensive push and trailed by two goals heading into the final period.
Rutgers was able to work away the first minutes of the fourth period, forcing Barraco and the Lion defense to push back an early Knight effort as the clock moved to the 11:00 mark. Myers and freshman Sophia Gladieux (Boyertown, Pa.) nearly connected shortly after that as a Lion Fastbreak moved the ball into Rutgers territory. But the ball skipped past the Knight cage and Penn State continued to trail by two. Penn State was able to force a penalty corner at the 6:59 mark but Glatz slapped back a hard Gladieux shot to keep her shutout intact. Another Lion corner at 2:15 led to a Glatz kick save on a Simon shot and the Scarlet Knights added a late goal from Milena Redlingshoefer to post a 3-0 victory.
Penn State outshot Rutgers 8-5, including a 7-2 advantage in the second half. The Lions also had seven corners to only two for the Knights. Glatz had five saves for RU while Barraco had three for the Nittany Lions.
"I thought that Rutgers played very well, the best we've seen," said Morett-Curtiss. "They were good offensively and defensively, and while we didn't give them a lot of chances on offense, they capitalized. This game is a reflection of how competitive the Big Ten is this year. I think, after a slow start, we got our game going offensively in the second half but couldn't break through their defense."
Penn State is now 4-4 overall, 3-2 B1G. Rutgers 6-3, 4-2 B1G. The two teams will face each other again on Sunday at 12 p.m.
Fans are encouraged to follow the Nittany Lion field hockey team online at www.GoPSUsports.com (click teams, click field hockey), on twitter @pennstateFH and on facebook at www.facebook.com/pennstatefieldhockey.
GAME BREAKDOWN
SCORING: 1 2 3 4 FINAL
PENN STATE 0 0 0 0 0
Rutgers 1 0 1 1 3
STATS: PSU RU
Shots 8 5
Corners 7 2
SCORING SUMMARY (goal/assist) – TIME
1st: RU – Clayre Smith (unassisted); 6:06
3rd: RU – Rachel Houston (Redlingshoefer); 7:29
4th: RU – Melina Redlingshoefer (Kerrie Burns, Katie Larmour); 0:00
GOALKEEPERS: MIN GA S
PSU: Brie Barraco 60:00 3
RU: Gianna Glatz 60:00 0
